Kaminsky shines as Hornets rout Wizards

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

Frank Kaminsky scored 25 points while Kemba Walker celebrated his 500th NBA game with 24 as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Washington Wizards 122-105 on Friday night at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

The Wizards had won eight of their last 10 games before this contest, but Washington’s had trouble with Charlotte all season. The Hornets now are 3-0 against the Wizards.

Kaminsky came off the bench to score his 25 points, including hitting six 3-pointers, while Walker got 20 in the second half alone.

That duo had plenty of help, though, as Marvin Williams (15), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14), Jeremy Lamb (11) and Dwight Howard (11) gave the Hornets six players in double figures.

Charlotte made 17 3-pointers as a team.

Washington just has not been able to handle the Charlotte offense this season: The Hornets scored 133 and 129 in their first two wins over the Wizards.

In this game, Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 33 points.

Turnovers hurt the Wizards, as the Hornets took advantage of the mistakes. Charlotte converted Washington’s 14 turnovers into 28 points.

Charlotte quickly took command in the first half thanks to some great shooting. The Hornets hit 53 percent from the field — including 53 percent from 3-point range (9-for-17) — and raced to a 67-55 halftime lead.

Things could have been worse for Washington in the first half, but Kelly Oubre Jr. made a layup with 1.4 seconds left, and Beal stole the inbounds pass and drained a 3 just before the buzzer.

The Hornets took a 60-40 lead late in the second quarter before the Wizards scored 15 of the final 22 points in the half.

Charlotte did all of that in the first half without much help from Walker, who didn’t make a basket until the final minute before turning everything around in the second half.

The guard-depleted Wizards signed Ramon Sessions to a 10-day contract on Friday. He played a season-and-a-half with Washington from 2015 through 2016, averaging 9.2 points.

The Wizards also said that John Wall (knee surgery, out six to eight weeks) is walking without crutches now and progressing in his recovery.